


Home for the Holidays

by Cedes360



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Jealousy, Majorly jealous amelia moments, My First Multichapter Fic, Nyotalia, Pining, the chapters are short but short fics are kinda my thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:21:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24387364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cedes360/pseuds/Cedes360
Summary: Amelia and Madeline are excited to go home from school for the holidays. Amelia wants this Christmas to go perfectly. But things don't exactly work out the way she planned.
Relationships: America/Canada (Hetalia), Female America/Female Canada (Hetalia), Female Canada/Female Prussia if you squint
Kudos: 9





	1. Let's Go Home

“How are you not done packing yet?” The elder blonde shouted from the doorway and tapped her foot impatiently. She let out a very loud and exaggerated huff, voicing her impatience and annoying for only the hundredth time in the last twenty minutes. But then again, that was Amelia. Everything about her was exaggerated and big. She made a loud groaning noise, trying to rush Madeline. 

“It’s only my pajamas and some toiletries. Just the very last minute stuff,” The younger woman smiled a bit and shook her head, “calm down. You’ve been packed for about 4 days. You’re the weird one, not me.” 

“Can you blame me for being excited? Jeez. I just wanna go home.” 

The semester was finally over and everyone was heading home for the holidays. This semester had really taken a toll on Amelia. In fact, the only thing she was dreading about going home was that her father would be asking her her classes were, if she liked her professors, and worst of all, what her grades were. She would be lucky if she barely passed most of them. She brushed the thought off and tried to look on the bright side of things. She would be leaving school for a few weeks and was going to be back home and spend Christmas with her father and with Madeline. 

“Come on!” Amelia whines again and leaned against the door-frame. 

“Be patient.” Madeline’s voice was soft and calm. She wasn’t going to let Amelia rush her. If anything, the older female would have sworn that Madeline was purposefully going slower! Still, there was something in Maddie’s voice that made Amelia stop fidgeting and just take a moment. 

Amelia’s eyes wandered up and down the length of the other woman’s body. Madeline’s movements were slow and careful. She folded each item of clothing with such care and preciseness. It was as though she were wrapping and packaging fine china rather than packing clothing for a trip home. Lithe limbs that moved with such grace and nimble fingers that made sure her clothes would arrive wrinkle free. Amelia couldn’t help but think about her own suitcase and how she’d just thrown all her clothes carelessly into it. Catching herself holding her breath and staring, Amelia exhaled suddenly and tore her gaze away from Madeline and returned to leaning against the doorframe, staring out into the hallway of the dorm. 

“Hey, Maddie.” Amelia stuffed her hands into the pockets of her coat, her voice suddenly becoming uncharacteristically quiet. So much so that the other girl didn’t seem to hear her at first. “Maddie.” She spoke up a little louder. 

“Huh?” Madeline looked back over her shoulder, amethyst eyes locking with Amelia’s. 

“Are you and your dad gonna join us for dinner again this year?” That wasn’t exactly what she wanted to say. She mentally kicked herself. That was stupid. Of course they were coming. They came every year. They’d lived next door to each other and had grown up practically as sisters their whole lives. 

Quirking a brow, Madeline laughed a bit. “Well yeah. Why wouldn’t we?” Madeline turned her back again and continued trying to finish her packing. 

Amelia let out a silent sigh, party relieved she hadn’t said what was actually on her mind, but also partly annoyed with herself for asking something so stupid and obvious. 

“Ready!” Madeline held her suitcase in her hand, thankfully pulling Amelia out of her thoughts. The older girl grinned widely and practically leapt across the room and grabbed the younger girl’s wrist in excitement. 

“Then let’s go!” 

The drive home seemed a lot longer than it actually was. But the girls didn’t mind. They enjoyed each other’s company and had fun singing along to christmas songs on the radio and playlists they’d made for the trip home. In fact, because of their enthusiastic chatter, they’d very nearly almost missed their exit. Madeline complained for Amelia to slow down several times, but she couldn’t help it. Ame was just too happy to be home and away from school. She was ecstatic to see her dad. She was excited to see Francis, who’d been like a second father to her. But most of all, she just couldn’t wait to spend Christmas with Maddie.


	2. The Guest

The first day everything went smoothly. they arrived, Arthur and Francis were overjoyed to see them and the girls unpacked their belongings before both families got together to celebrate Amelia and Madeline’s safe arrival as well as their survival of another semester. That evening though, the first of a series of events happened. There was a knock on the door. 

The four of them were sitting in Madeline’s home, chatting and drinking cider when they heard the knock. Amelia glanced at the door, a little surprised that someone was knocking. Charollers maybe? Her surprise changed to confusion, however, when Madeline stood up and announced: “That must be her.” 

Must be who? 

Amelia looked around at the two men. Arthur and Francis just smiled and nodded knowingly. Were they expecting someone and she didn’t know about it? The blonde pursed her lips and tried to peer out into the hallway to see who was at the door. She could hear Madeline and greeting someone else and then footsteps coming into the house. 

“Dad, Arthur, this is Julchen.” Madeline smiled and introduced the young albino girl that Amelia recognized as one of their classmates. She remembered having two classes with Julchen. But why was there here? Her eyes wandered down and spotted the suitcase in the pale girl’s hands. 

“Oui, oui. Bonjour, Julchen.” Francis stood to shake the girl’s hand and introduce himself. “Welcome. Please, make yourself at home. Madeline, why don’t you take her bags up to your room and bring your friend a glass.” 

Amelia continued to sit there confused and now a bit irritated. What the hell was going on here? 

“Uh… what the hell is going on here?” The shocked looks on Francis’s, Madeline’s, and Julchen’s faces, as well as the disapproving scowl on Arthur’s face let Amelia know that she’d accidentally said that out loud. 

“Amelia!” Arthur snapped at her. “Where are your manners?” 

The girl shrunk back, suddenly feeling very embarrassed and a bit ashamed with her comment. 

“No, no. I’m sorry, I completely forgot to tell you.” Madeline let out a small nervous laugh and smiled politely. “Julchen’s parents aren’t going to be home for the holidays. And normally she’d spend them with her brother Ludwig, but he decided to spend Christmas with his girlfriend Feliciana. So I offered to let her stay with us over the break. I already told papa about it, and he told Arthur. I thought I’d mentioned it to you. I’m sorry.” 

Amelia was slightly taken aback. They always spent Christmas together. Ever since they were little girls it was just them, their dads, and no one else. She felt a bit uncomfortable with having there. The tension in the room was almost tangible and Julchen suddenly looked as embarrassed and uncomfortable as Amelia. The blonde let out a laugh, suddenly and waved her hand dismissively. “Oh! Okay, no biggie. I just wish you’d told me. Jesus, you know how I hate surprises.” She laughed again, trying to lighten the mood again. Whatever. It was just this one year, right? They’d still stick to their traditions, they’d just have one extra person. Besides, she didn’t want to make things more awkward than they already were, Arthur would just yell at her when they got home later if she made a big deal about it. 

The rest of the evening wasn’t completely terrible. Everyone chatted and picked up the conversation right where it left off. They told stories, jokes, attempted to sing some carols poorly, overall just had a good time. Yet, Amelia couldn't shake this nagging feeling in the back of her mind. Eventually Amelia and Arthur walked back home, right next door. Maybe Ame was just tired from the long car ride. She’d feel better in the morning. 

Come next morning, Amelia woke up and grinned. today was going to be great. She wasn’t going to let last night bring her down or ruin her holiday spirit. She got up and hastily got dressed, running out to the kitchen and grabbing the two gingerbread house kits that were on the counter. She froze suddenly, having almost forgotten about their third companion this year. She looked back at the counter and realized she’d almost completely missed the third kit that was there. Arthur must have bought an extra one for Julchen this year. Amelia shrugged and picked up the third kit, talking all three out to the dining room so that they would have plenty of space on the table. She sat and waited for them. 

After some time passed, Amelia began glancing at the clock every minute or so. Madeline was usually here by now. What was taking her so long? She frowned, wanting her friend to get there already, but not exactly wanting to go over and get her either. Laying her head on the table, she worried that maybe Maddie had forgotten. But how could she forget? They do this every year. Ame felt a mass begin to form in her throat. What if she didn’t show up? Just as the thought crossed her mind, she heard the door open and Madeline’s voice. Amelia let out a long sigh of relief. She suddenly felt so silly for even doubting the other girl. 

“Sorry we’re late. Julchen made me and Papa breakfast and we lost track of time.” Madeline explained as she and Julchen removed their coats and entered the dining room. 

“Ahaha!” Amelia laughed it off, trying to make it seem like she definitely had not just been on the verge of a panic attack. “Don’t even sweat it! I totally slept in. I hadn’t even realized what time it was and I just came down myself!” 

Madeline giggled, “that’s so typical of you, too.” Julchen laughed a bit in agreement and looked at the gingerbread house making kits. 

“So, I’ve never really made one of these.”

Amelia quirked an eyebrow. Was this girl for real? What, had she been living under a rock or something? Madeline simply smiled and pulled a box closer to herself and pushed one towards Julchen. “They’re fun. Ame, do you have all the candy?” 

“Huh? Oh! Yeah.” Amelia sprang up from her seat and ran back into the kitchen to retrieve several bags of icing and even more bags of assorted candies and chocolates that they would use to decorate their little edible homes. She plopped them down onto the table and grinned. “So let’s get started!” 

Not even fifteen minutes in, Amelia could feel her agitation rising once again. She watched Maddie giggle as Julchen ate another piece of candy. The tan blonde tried not to sound as annoyed as she actually was when she spoke to the albino girl. “Julchen, you’re supposed to put the candy on the house. Not eat it.” 

Julchen shrugged and put another gumdrop on her tongue. “So what? We’re gonna eat the houses later anyways right?”

“That’s not the point,” Amelia snapped back. “Decorating is part of a tradition. You can’t…” she huffed and began to get frustrated. “You can’t just eat the candy okay!” 

Julchen merely scrunched up her face and put a piece of candy on the roof of the house, sticking it with icing. “There. It’s a ball that got stuck on the roof because the kids threw it too high.” Madeline laughed at this, which only made Amelia’s blood boil. “I’m bored with this. I want to go play in the snow. Can we go make snowmen instead?” 

“No!” Amelia hissed. “We always do this. You can’t just--”

“Actually, Ame, that sounds like a fun idea.” Madeline piped up. It felt as though Amelia’s heart had dropped into the pit of her stomach. Maddie actually agreed? But what about tradition? 

“Oh. Well… You guys go out, I have to clean up in here or else dad will flip.” 

“Do you want any help cleaning up?”

“Nah, it’s not a lot. I got it. Besides, Julchen sounds like she really wants to go out and make snowmen, or whatever. Go out with her. I’ll be right out.” 

“Well, if you say so.” Madeline looked uncertain, but had no time to argue as Julchen sprung up and grabbed hold of the other girl’s thin arm and pulled her out the door and into the piles of soft frozen fluff. 

Amelia stood in the dining room alone now. She stared at the half-made houses and felt the pit in her stomach only get bigger. It was only for a little longer. She could endure this just a little longer. Maddie was just being nice and giving Julchen a place to stay. Maddie was too nice for her own good. Christmas was just around the corner and then she wasn’t going to let it get ruined. Not when she had the perfect gift for Maddie.


	3. Dinnertime Disaster

It was Christmas Eve and Amelia could hardly wait for dinnertime to come. Every year they had a big nice family dinner where Arthur and Francis would spend most of the day cooking, of course the girls would help out, then they went over to Maddie’s house and Ame would sleep over and they’d open presents in the morning. 

Amelia had gone out of her way to try to be nice to Julchen and just figured she’d suck it up and do what their “guest” wanted. But not tonight. Tonight she wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of their annual traditions and Christmas. Everything went as planned and they all helped pitch in and cook all the food. They joked and teased, made a mess then all helped clean up. The whole day actually seemed to pass by without any problems whatsoever. At least not until they actually sat down to dinner. 

They had the usual pleasant conversation, talking about this and that, what their resolutions for the new year were going to be, what some of their best accomplishments of the year had been, and the like. As soon as the subject of school was brought up, it was a different matter entirely. 

“What classes are you taking next semester?” Arthur asked this as he took another sip of wine. Amelia felt her grip on her fork tighten. She’d checked her grades the other night and it was not pretty. In fact, she was going to have to repeat one of her courses. She let Madeline answer first then merely shrugged the question off. 

“I haven’t decided yet. I gotta look at that stuff this week.” She quickly stuffed more food into her mouth. Arthur seemed dissatisfied with her answer but didn’t press the issue. Francis dabbed at his mouth with a napkin and spoke up. 

“Was this last semester difficult? How did you do in your classes?” From the look on Arthur’s face, he seemed to expect an answer from Amelia as well. Madeline smiled and pushed her food around on her plate as she answered her father.

“I did well. I passed with four A’s and two B’s. I liked most of my teachers but it was a lot of work.” Francis nodded and smiled, the pride all too evident on his face. Amelia could feel her father’s eyes on her, waiting for an answer. Beneath the table, Amelia could feel Madeline’s hand place itself reassuringly on her thigh. Maddie knew that Ame was struggling with her classes. 

“Psh, I mean I didn’t straight A’s or anything, but I did fine.” Amelia shrugged again. “But nothing I couldn’t handle or anything.” Once again, Arthur seemed pacified for the time being. At least he did until Julchen spoke up. 

“Fine? Dude, you hardly showed up to our class. People would stare at you when you fell asleep.” 

Amelia felt her blood run cold and her heart stop completely. Both her and Madeline staring at Julchen in shock, the albino girl seemingly oblivious to what she’d just caused. Julchen quickly realized her mistake when she saw Arthur’s face, muttering a quiet, “oh…” 

“Hardly showed up to class? Falling asleep during lectures?” Arthur set his fork down, eyes boring into Amelia as she sank down in her seat and averted his gaze. The tension in the room was thick, almost tangible. 

Francis cleared his throat and stood up, picking up his plate with him. “It’s the holidays. And it was a fantastic dinner. Come on, old man, let the girls be. It’s getting late for us seniors, why don’t we just clean up and let them enjoy the rest of the evening?” 

Everyone moved to clean up after themselves and put away the leftovers. Madeline gave Amelia’s thigh another supportive squeeze before she stood up to help with the dishes. As they finished cleaning up and straightening up the dining room, Julchen, Madeline, and Amelia all moved to leave and head over to Francis’s house for the sleepover. 

“Amelia.” Arthur’s voice stopped her in her tracks. “Hold on a moment. I’d like to have a word with you before you go.” 

Maddie had trouble hiding her concern, lingering in the doorway for a moment. Julchen stood by Maddie awkwardly, feeling bad for unintentionally putting Amelia on the hot seat. 

“You guys go ahead. I’ll be over in a bit.” Ame tried to play it off cool. She didn’t want them to worry or feel bad for her. Maddie simply nodded and pulled Julchen along and the two headed off next door. Amelia was left alone with her father now.

“You’re going to get on the computer and pull up your grades for me to see right now.”

“But dad--”

“Now.”

The following conversation was not a pleasant one. Nearly an hour passed by of Arthur just yelling and lecturing her nonstop. It was full of “I’m not paying large amounts of money each semester for you to goof off” and “You’re an adult now, you need to start acting like one.” Somewhere after the whole being-disappointed-and-she-should-be-ashamed-for-slacking-and-not-doing-her-best spiel, she began to tune him out. Perhaps not so much tune him out as it was actually a numbness that started in her chest and spread throughout her body. 

“Honestly, sometimes I envy Francis. He’s never had these kinds of problems with Madeline. For as much time you two spend together, I sometimes wish she’d rub off on you and that you would learn a thing or two from her.” Amelia winced at this. Fighting back the stinging feeling in her eyes, she bit down on her tongue to keep from letting them overflow. She didn’t say a word the entire time. After scolding her for what felt like hours, Arthur finally ran out of flaws to point out and different ways for saying how much of a screw up she was. He finally gave up on lecturing her and went to bed. 

Amelia got up and trudged out the door, her feet feeling about ten times heavier than normal as she pushed through the snow across her yard then across Maddie’s yard and walked up to their door. It was unlocked, since they were expecting her, and she walked in, shutting it quietly behind her because Francis had already gone to bed by now. She slipped her shoes off and crept up the stairs, wiping her eyes dry with her sleeves and trying to make herself look presentable for her friends. She stopped outside Madeline’s door when she heard their voices coming from inside the room.

“Shut up, like you’re any better.” The sound of Julchen’s voice just sent a pang of sharp pain and irritation through her. 

“Yeah, but it’d be expected of me. You, on the other hand, I’m surprised at.” Maddie’s voice seemed to sooth Amelia, helping calm her and heal the wounds.

“Whatever. So… are you gonna answer the question? Anyone you like or have your eye on?” There was a teasing tone in Julchen’s voice and Amelia immediately tensed up. She held her breath as she stood outside the door, trying to listen in on the conversation. 

“Well…” Madeline began, her soft voice becoming bashful and meek. “I mean, sort of. But it’s weird.” 

“Weird how?”

“It’s just-- stop moving around so much. You were complaining about me pulling your hair but it wouldn’t hurt if you’d just sit still.”

“Fine fine. Just answer.”

“I mean I like them, but it’s just a little complicated. That’s all. Jeez, you’re hair is so long.” Amelia could tell that Maddie was trying to change the subject.

“Well so is yours.”

“Yeah, but mine is so curly. Yours is long and straight and just so pretty. I like braiding it.”

Amelia frowned and reached a hand up to her own hair. It was frizzy and short. She’d always been a bit of a tomboy and preferred her hair cut short and out of the way. She liked it this way, so she couldn’t for the life of her figure out why she suddenly felt so self conscious about it.

“Amelia?” She jumped at the sound of her name.

“Huh?” Madeline seemed just as caught off.

“Is that who you like?”

She held her breath.

Madeline let out a laugh. “She’s like my sister.”

“I guess. Got any sodas left?”

“Yeah, hold on. They’re downstairs.”

Amelia quickly and quietly ducked out of the hallway and into the bathroom, hiding in the darkness and waiting for Maddie to head downstairs. She wasn’t ready to join the sleepover yet. She had to dry her eyes again.


	4. So Much for the Perfect Christmas

Amelia was the type of girl who would sleep in until noon if given the chance. Nothing could wake her, not even a hurricane. Well… almost nothing. Holidays were a different story. Especially if it was Christmas. She opened her eyes and sat up, running them and scratching her head. She gave a yawn and looked around. Julchen was still asleep on the floor a few feet away from her and Maddie was not far. Madeline had felt it would be unfair for anyone to get the bed, so all three of them had slept on the floor. 

Less than a minute awake and she could feel excitement rising in her. Amelia shifted and reached over to gently shake Madeline. 

“Maddie. Maddie. Wake up. It’s Christmas.” 

Madeline hummed and opened her eyes. She yawned and looked up at Amelia before smiling and murmuring out sleepily, “Merry Christmas, Ame.” 

Amelia got up and went into the bathroom to brush her hair while Madeline shook and prodded at Julchen trying to wake her. The pale girl grunted and swatted at the hands then rolled over and continued to snooze. By the time Amelia had brushed her teeth and gotten dressed, Julchen was finally opening her eyes. 

“Ugh. Jesus freakin christ, what time is it?” 

“It’s a quarter past-- It’s Christmas! Get up!” 

That was all it took before all three were finally up and heading downstairs. Francis and Arthur were already downstairs. This didn’t surprise Amelia, her father got up at the crack of dawn, or something ridiculous like that, every day. Francis was making breakfast and Arthur was attempting to help but getting shooed away. As the girls entered the room, both men smiled quickly served their food and ushered them into the living room where the tree was. 

They ate quickly, too excited to savor anything. The food was gone in the blink of an eye and there was a sudden mess of bright colorful wrapping paper as presents were passed around and distributed. Even Julchen received some. They each took turns opening one until all the gifts were opened and the floor was littered with torn up paper. As they sat around admiring their presents and repeating thank yous over and over, Amelia chewed on her tongue anxiously and looked around. All the gifts under the tree were gone, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any left. 

After a bit of clean up in the livingroom and kitchen, they each still had a couple of hours to kill before they would all go out and carol around the neighborhood. They weren’t exactly the best group, but it was still fun. Even when people shut the door on them or politely asked them to leave and stop singing, Amelia couldn't deny that she still enjoyed it. Amelia went home to change her clothes for the family carolling. As she got dressed, she rummaged through her suitcase that she’d brought from school and pulled out a small wrapped present. She held it in her hand and took a deep breath. Maybe this was a bad idea. She picked up the card that went with the gift and stared at it for a moment. Yeah, definitely a bad idea. She stuffed the card and present into her pockets and prepared herself for some off pitch christmas songs. 

They left the house and the first few places went not terrible. Families opened their doors and smiled, not caring that the songs weren’t exactly in tune. It wasn’t about the quality of the music, it was the message the songs had. People thanked them and offered them warm drinks and treats. It wasn’t until about the fifth house that someone actually cringed but continued to listen, looking slightly uncomfortably the whole time. 

After getting almost all the houses on their block, it was clear that even they were getting a bit tired of singing the same songs over and over. They decided to do just one more house, then they would be done caroling. After said house, Arthur and Francis started talking back home, leaving the girls to spend the rest of the afternoon however they wanted. Given that it was Christmas and everything was closed, the three of them just wandered around and chatting. 

In their wanderings, they ended up at a park. People were there, walking in pairs or with their dogs, some children were on the playground. But given the cold and most people wanting to spend the day with family, most didn’t stay long and after a certain point, they were the only three at the park. 

Amelia plopped herself onto one of the swings and began to swing back and forth. She had always loved the swings. They were her favorite. When she was younger she remembered pretending she could fly and that she was a superhero. But even heroes weren’t exactly invincible and after swinging too high one and and jumping off, she got an earful from Arthur on the way to the emergency room for a broken arm. 

Julchen ran to climb on the big playground jungle gym and Maddie walked after her, laughing a bit and warning her friend not to fall. Julchen hung upside down, her long hair touching the dirty snow on the ground and Maddie crouched down to bunch her friend’s hair up and tie it for her. 

Amelia sat on the swing watching and chewing on her lip. She slipped her hands into her pockets and felt the present and card. She knew if she didn’t do it soon she would chicken out. It was now or never. 

“Hey, Maddie. C’mere, I wanna show you something.” 

“Just a second.” 

Amelia looked over and the other two. Julchen climbed down and made her way to the monkey bars where Maddie was standing. Everything seemed to stop for a moment when all three pairs of eyes landed on something tied to one of the bars. 

Someone had tied a bit of mistletoe to the monkey bars. Julchen froze when she realized that she and Madeline were both standing under it. Amelia held her breath and watched. Maddie gave a small shrug and laughed nervously, cheeks turning pink. Julchen laughed along, grinning as she inched closer. Amelia could feel her heart shrivel up inside her chest as the other two got closer and touched lips. It was just a split second, but it was a kiss. The two laughed it off nervously and Amelia looked away, rubbing her eyes and fighting with everything she had not to get up and just run. One minute she was flying and the next it was like hitting the ground and breaking her arm all over again, only this time it hurt worse. 

She exhaled a shaky breath, trying to compose herself as Madeline walked over and sat in the swing next to her. 

“So what did you want to show me? Hey, are you okay? You’re face is all red. Do you want my scarf?” 

Amelia shook her head and coughed, choking back the tears. 

“N-No. I’m fine. Thanks though.” She paused. Her mind went completely blank for a second. 

“You sure you’re okay? What did you wanna show me?”

“Huh? Oh. Uh…” She reached into her pocket and pulled out the wrapped gift, leaving the card behind. “I had one more gift for you. I completely forgot about it until just now.”

“Oh! Thank you!” Madeline smiled and took the gift, unwrapping it and examining the velvet case. She opened it and let out a small gasp. “Oh my gosh, Ame it’s so beautiful.” Madeline picked up the amethyst necklace, clasping the silver chain around her neck to try it on. The stone matched the color of her eyes and Amelia felt her breath leave her lungs again. “I don’t know what to say… Thank you.” 

“Yeah… don’t mention it okay? I just thought it would look pretty on you.” She had been right. It suited her perfectly. “Anyways. We should get back home. I am actually feeling kind of cold.” She stood and walked away quickly, not letting Madeline get another word in as she pulled the card out of her pocket and tossed it in the nearby trashcan. She didn’t look back as she started to leave. 

“Hey! Wait up!” Madeline chased after her and caught up shortly. “Wait, you dropped something.” She held out the card that Amelia had just thrown away, the envelope was speckled in garbage. 

“No, I didn’t. I threw it out.”

“Well you shouldn’t throw out Christmas cards, you should put it in a shoe box and save it. They have fond memories. Keep it, please? You’ll regret it if you throw it out.” Madeline looked down at the card and paused, her brow furrowing in confusion. Madeline’s name was written on the envelope in Amelia’s handwriting. “Wait. Was this supposed to be for me? How come you threw it out?” Madeline frowned and looked back up at Amelia. 

“Look, it doesn’t matter. Okay? It was just a dumb card and it was just really generic and didn’t feel genuine so I decided not to give it to you okay?” Amelia could feel herself panicking on the inside as she reached to snatch the card away but Maddie was too fast. The other girl turned around and began to open the card.

“I don’t care. It’s still a nice gesture.” She pulled the card out of the envelope and started to read it. 

“Stop! Give that back!” Amelia lunged at her, trying to grab it before it was too late, knocking them both over to the ground. Madeline let out a startled shriek as she was tackled. 

Just then Julchen bolted over, pulled Amelia off of Madeline. “What the hell is wrong with you?! Jesus.”

Madeline stared at Amelia in pure shock. “What has gotten into you all of a sudden?!” 

Both of them just stared at her, waiting for some kind of answer. 

“I just-- I… Just forget it!” She couldn’t hold it back anymore and tears began to flow openly from her eyes, spilling down her cheeks and landing in the mess of snow on the ground. “This was supposed to be the perfect Christmas and you ruined it!” She pointed at Julchen as she said this. The girl looked stunned then hurt. And Madeline was equally mortified. Amelia stood up and ran. She didn’t know where to go, if she went home they’d just find her there and Arthur would ask what was wrong and what happened. Not knowing where to go, she just ran.


	5. The Perfect Christmas

It was several hours later now and it had gotten dark. After wandering around for hours and hiding from her friends and family, Amelia had somehow winded back up at the park. It was completely deserted now and the only light came from some distant street lamps and the moon. She sat down on the swings again, staring at the ground and feeling, well, pretty crummy. 

She felt a warm tear slide down her cold cheek and watched it land on her boot. She couldn’t believe she’d done and said those things. Julchen wasn’t the one who ruined Christmas, she’d managed to screw it up all by herself. She’d never felt so ashamed. 

“Hey.” The sudden voice startled her and she jumped. Looking up, she saw Maddie standing in front of her. Amelia felt her shame stab through her again and averted her gaze, choosing to look at the ground again as another tear fell. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to push you. I didn’t mean what I said. I was just…”

“No, it’s okay. I’m sorry too.” Madeline sat down on the swing beside her. “I read the card.” 

Amelia cringed as Madeline held the card out to her. She took it and read over her own writing. 

‘Maddie, you’ve been in my life as my best friend since we were kids. Now I want you to stay in my life, but as my girlfriend. Merry Christmas’

She sniffled and wiped at her eyes, trying to keep from sobbing. 

“Why didn’t you say anything before?”

Amelia shrugged and kicked at the snow. “I was going to. I was gonna give that to you today. But that was before I found out Julchen was gonna be here. And I heard you guys talking. You said you saw me as your sister and that you liked someone else. So I decided not to give you the card.” 

Madeline was silent for a long moment. She traced her foot through the snow, drawing shapes. Amelia could tell she was thinking of what to say next. 

“You’re wrong.”

“What?”

“I didn’t say I liked someone else. I said it was complicated. And it’s complicated because we’re like sisters. Or at least, that what I thought you saw us as.” Her cheeks turned a rosy shade of pink and Amelia could feel her own face heat up too. “So um… Yes.”

“Yes?”

“Y-Yeah. I’ll be your girlfriend. If you still want me too.” 

Amelia didn’t know what to say. She opened and closed her mouth a few times. All of a sudden, it didn’t seem as cold out. She looked away and tried to hide her smile. “Okay…”

They sat there quietly for a moment. Amelia glanced over at Maddie who was looking bashful and staring at the snow on the ground. Amelia reached a hand over and tentatively grasped Madeline’s hand. Maddie smiled and looked up at her. “I--”

“There you guys are! Oh my god! We’ve been worried sick about you! We looked everywhere!” Julchen ran over and panted, trying to catch her breath. “Jesus, Arthur was just about ready to call the cops! We thought--” Julchen’s eyes landed on the clasped hands. Amelia could swear she saw gears turning, or maybe a hamster running extra hard on it’s wheel inside Julchen’s head before it seemed to finally click and the girl grinned wide. 

Julchen glanced up and pointed. 

The other two looked up and spotted the mistletoe. Someone must have climbed all over the playground and tied it in different places. Madeline let out an embarrassed squeak and Julchen turned her back to them to hide the smug smile on her face. 

Amelia felt the corners of her lips pull into a smile. Nothing was gonna ruin this Christmas for her. Not even Julchen. 

“Hey, C’mere.” 

“Hm?” Julchen turned back around. 

“All three of us are standing under it, aren’t we?” Amelia grinned and pulled Julchen closer, locking lips with the girl and giving her a kiss before turning to Madeline and pulling her into a much gentler embrace. 

“Merry Christmas, Maddie.” 

Madeline blushed and and spoke in a soft voice, “Merry Christmas, Ame.”

Amelia closed the distance between them and pressed her lips to Madeline’s. She tasted just as sweet as she’d imagined, if not sweeter. 

By the time Julchen had snapped out of her shocked state, Madeline and Amelia were already across the street and walking home hand in hand.


End file.
